Actually, in a free market overproducers try like hell to increase demand.
They can try, yes; but if they don't succeed, they go out of business. In systems that are referred to by the term "capitalism", OTOH, they can often get the government to force increases in demand--for example, railroad owners in the late 1800's who had failed in open competition went to the government to get laws passed that gave them exclusive rights to certain routes.
Also, a free market means that if people choose to buy something, then that something gets made, whether or not it's something that you think "ought" to be made.
with our mega-cities there are few forests left
Do you have any actual numbers to back up this claim? AFAIK there is still a lot of land occupied by forests and other "natural" environments. I live near a major city but there is plenty of forest an hour's drive away. Maybe you need to get out more?
if we turn away from one advertisement we are just confronted with another and another and then another
I think that depends on how you choose to spend your time. Yes, if you spend a lot of time watching TV you can't avoid seeing a lot of ads. I solve that problem by not watching much TV. Similar remarks apply to other kinds of advertising.
Btw, I'm not trying to say I'm in favor of advertising; I'm not. I think most of it is a great waste of effort. But ads aren't aimed at someone like me anyway; they're aimed at people who are actually influenced by them. So if you really want to get rid of ads, you need to find a way to convince people that they shouldn't be influenced by them. Which, btw, is what a true free market requires anyway: it means the responsibility for making sure that your buying decisions reflect your actual values lies with you.
They can try, yes; but if they don't succeed, they go out of business. In systems that are referred to by the term "capitalism", OTOH, they can often get the government to force increases in demand--for example, railroad owners in the late 1800's who had failed in open competition went to the government to get laws passed that gave them exclusive rights to certain routes.
Also, a free market means that if people choose to buy something, then that something gets made, whether or not it's something that you think "ought" to be made.
with our mega-cities there are few forests left
Do you have any actual numbers to back up this claim? AFAIK there is still a lot of land occupied by forests and other "natural" environments. I live near a major city but there is plenty of forest an hour's drive away. Maybe you need to get out more?
if we turn away from one advertisement we are just confronted with another and another and then another
I think that depends on how you choose to spend your time. Yes, if you spend a lot of time watching TV you can't avoid seeing a lot of ads. I solve that problem by not watching much TV. Similar remarks apply to other kinds of advertising.
Btw, I'm not trying to say I'm in favor of advertising; I'm not. I think most of it is a great waste of effort. But ads aren't aimed at someone like me anyway; they're aimed at people who are actually influenced by them. So if you really want to get rid of ads, you need to find a way to convince people that they shouldn't be influenced by them. Which, btw, is what a true free market requires anyway: it means the responsibility for making sure that your buying decisions reflect your actual values lies with you.